NaBloPoMo Day 25...Redefining Insulin With Dream Trust

INSULIN...

For some it's scientific :

A polypeptide hormone secreted by the islets of Langerhans and functioning in the regulation of the metabolism of carbohydrates and fats, especially the conversion of glucose to glycogen, which lowers the blood glucose level.

For others it's man made:
Any of various pharmaceutical preparations containing this hormone that are derived from the pancreas of certain animals or produced through genetic engineering and are used in the medical treatment and management of diabetes mellitus (type I).

For Cara it is life:
Human existence, relationships, or activity in general. The interval of time between birth and death.

For TYPE 1'S living in 3rd world countries it is a privilege:
Such an advantage, immunity, or right held as a prerogative of status or rank, and exercised to the exclusion or detriment of others.

THIS LAST DEFINITION MUST BE RE-DEFINED! Insulin is NOT a privilege it is a necessity FOR life for people with type 1 diabetes. Children and adults with type 1 diabetes MUST have insulin in order to live, without it they WILL die. In 3rd world countries children are dying in alarming numbers because insulin is not available, this should not be happening, type 1 diabetes is not a death sentence.

Recently I was sent some information about Dream Trust :

"The main object of the Trust is to help poor children with diabetes. People at large, in India, are not medically insured and have to buy insulin injections, syringes and other accessories required for treatment. Poor families find it difficult to commit a quarter of their monthly income for the medicine and healthcare required by a diabetic child. This is why they try to find short cuts which they wrongly believe will make treatment less expensive. Debilitating, social, cultural and economic factors in India continue to discriminate against women and girls in appalling ways. This is why, the trust gives just and deserving priority to girls. This project of sponsoring these children was conceived after we experienced two shocking incidents of losing diabetic girls. Parents of these girls had stopped giving insulin as they simply could not afford it any longer."
(Taken from the Dream Trust website)

Here is the story of Sudha told by Dr.Sharad Pendsey-Managing Trustee of DREAM Trust:

Sudha was eight years old and had just been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when I met her. When she was discharged from the clinic, I counselled her parents. I explained them about insulin and its importance for survival. I found Sudha’s poor and illiterate parents very attentive to what I said. Finally her father asked me, "Doctor, if I understand you correctly, does Sudha have to take insulin everyday for the rest of life ?" I nodded, "Yes". "What would happen", he went on, "if she stopped taking insulin?" "Well, she would go into a coma", I explained, "and if left unattended she would die". He nodded calmly and had clearly understood everything I said. I was happy that my counselling had had the desired effect. I gave Sudha a pat on the head and she left the clinic with her parents. One month later, I learnt that Sudha had died. Her father had quite intentionally stopped giving her insulin, knowing very well what the result would be. The logic of poverty had overpowered the logic of life.

This should never happen to children with type 1 diabetes and it breaks my heart to hear these stories and learn the reality of type 1 diabetes in other countries. I count my blessings every day that this is not our reality and I'm truly thankful for this. This story and many others have haunted me these last few weeks and I really feel like I NEED TO HELP. I will be having a family meeting and we will be sponsoring one child in Nagpur Indian. Sponsorship involves regular monitoring, providing necessary health care and supply of insulin & syringes. Sponsor receives photographs, address of the child, family background and other detailed information. The sponsor can send gifts, cards, through Dream Trust and vice versa. The sponsor can visit the child by visiting Nagpur. The sponsor can communicate through Dream Trust as the children do not possess the means of communication. It only take $300 to sponsor a child for one year.

If sponsoring is not your cup of tea here are some other ways you can help:

By sending donations : The Trust can plan more educational activities, organize juvenile diabetics' camps, picnics, buy audio-visual aids, print educational material in the vernacular languages for distribution and carry out rehabilitation of these children. Every donation will go long way to help in fulfilling the dreams of a diabetic child.

By sending blood glucose meters with strips; which can be given to parents and children for home monitoring, so as to improve the overall control and prevent complications.

By sending insulin, insulin syringes, lancets and pricking devices, prefilled insulin syringes and insulin pens.

Visit us at DREAM Trust at Nagpur, see the work yourself , get involved and give your valuable suggestion

and Please take a peek and see what Mrs Candy Hearts is doing over at Candy Hearts to help stop the heart break with her support of International Diabetes Federation's Life For A Child Program The International Diabetes Federation has currently helped 45 children through Dream Trust in India. If you would like to help Wendy reach her goal of raising $100,000 for the Life For A Child Program please click THIS LINK TOGETHER WE CAN GIVE LIFE TO CHILDREN WITH TYPE 1 DIABETES...